Inverted collapsible umbrella

ABSTRACT

A collapsible umbrella including a canopy having a top side and a bottom side. The umbrella is capable of being manipulated between an open position and a closed position. The top side of the canopy is substantially exposed when the umbrella is in the open position, and the bottom side of the canopy is substantially exposed when the umbrella is in the closed position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication Ser. No. 60/882,360, filed Dec. 28, 2006, the entirety ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates generally to umbrellas and moreparticularly, to collapsible umbrellas.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Collapsible umbrellas have been known for a substantial period of time.The advantage of collapsible umbrellas over the non-collapsible types isthat collapsible umbrellas can provide cover for the user when needed,but can be quickly collapsed for storage or non-use. Generally,collapsible umbrellas have a plurality of support arms to support anumbrella canopy, which is used to protect a user from rain, snow, orother weather elements. The support arms are generally hinged in one ormore locations to render the support arms and canopy collapsible. Atypical collapsible umbrella can be seen in FIGS. 1-4. As best seen inFIGS. 3-4, the top surface of the umbrella, which is the surface that isexposed to rain or other elements when in use, is exposed to the userwhen the umbrella is in a collapsed configuration. Because the topsurface of the umbrella is generally exposed to a user when collapsed,water often splashes onto the user, the user's clothes, or leaks ontosurrounding items, such as car floorboards, flooring, etc.

Thus it can be seen that a need exists for improvements to collapsibleumbrellas to provide for an umbrella that permits a user to collapse theumbrella without getting wet. It is to the provision of this need andothers that the present patent application is directed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In one aspect, the present invention is a collapsible umbrella includinga canopy having a top side and a bottom side. The umbrella is capable ofbeing manipulated between an open position and a closed position. Thetop side of the canopy is substantially exposed when the umbrella is inthe open position, and only the bottom side of the canopy issubstantially exposed when the umbrella is in the closed position.

In another aspect, the present invention is a collapsible umbrellaincluding a canopy, a central support shaft, a plurality of supportbraces, and a sliding carriage attached to the central support shaft.The canopy has a top side and a bottom side. The support braces arecoupled to the canopy and the sliding carriage. User operation of thesliding carriage along the central support shaft manipulates theumbrella between an open configuration and a closed configuration. Thetop side and bottom side of the canopy are substantially exposed whenthe umbrella is in the open configuration, and the top side issubstantially enclosed when the umbrella is in the closed configuration.

These and other aspects, features and advantages of the invention willbe understood with reference to the drawing figures and detaileddescription herein, and will be realized by means of the variouselements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appendedclaims. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following brief description of the drawings anddetailed description of the invention are exemplary and explanatory ofpreferred embodiments of the invention, and are not restrictive of theinvention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of a known collapsible umbrella shown in an openconfiguration.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the collapsible umbrella of FIG. 1 shownwithout a canopy for clarity.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the collapsible umbrella of FIG. 1 shown in aclosed configuration.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the collapsible umbrella of FIG. 1 shown in aclosed configuration without a canopy for clarity.

FIG. 5 is a front view of a collapsible umbrella according to an exampleembodiment of the present invention shown in an open configuration.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the collapsible umbrella of FIG. 5 shown in aclosed configuration.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a collapsible umbrella according to anotherexample embodiment of the present invention shown in a closedconfiguration.

FIG. 8 is a front view of a collapsible umbrella according to stillanother example embodiment of the present invention shown in a closedconfiguration.

FIG. 9 is a front view of the collapsible umbrella of FIG. 5 shown in anopen configuration without a canopy for clarity.

FIGS. 10-13 show the manipulation of the collapsible umbrella of FIG. 5from an open configuration to a closed configuration.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a collapsible umbrella according to anotherexample embodiment of the present invention shown in an openconfiguration without a canopy for clarity.

FIGS. 15-16 show the manipulation of the collapsible umbrella of FIG. 14from an open configuration to a closed configuration depicted without acanopy for clarity.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention may be understood more readily by reference to thefollowing detailed description of the invention taken in connection withthe accompanying drawing figures, which form a part of this disclosure.It is to be understood that this invention is not limited to thespecific devices, methods, conditions or parameters described and/orshown herein, and that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescribing particular embodiments by way of example only and is notintended to be limiting of the claimed invention. Also, as used in thespecification including the appended claims, the singular forms “a,”“an,” and “the” include the plural, and reference to a particularnumerical value includes at least that particular value, unless thecontext clearly dictates otherwise. Ranges may be expressed herein asfrom “about” or “approximately” one particular value and/or to “about”or “approximately” another particular value. When such a range isexpressed, another embodiment includes from the one particular valueand/or to the other particular value. Similarly, when values areexpressed as approximations, by use of the antecedent “about,” it willbe understood that the particular value forms another embodiment.

With reference now to the drawing figures, a typical collapsibleumbrella 10 can be seen in FIGS. 1-4. Generally, a known collapsibleumbrella includes a canopy 20, a central support shaft 30, a slidingcarriage 40, and a plurality of hinged support braces 50. The canopy 20has a top surface 22, which is directly exposed to the elements, and abottom surface 24. When the umbrella 10 is in the open position, as bestseen in FIG. 1, the canopy 20 is stretched over the support braces 50,providing cover for a user of the umbrella from rain, sleet, snow, sunexposure, etc. When a user has finished utilizing the umbrella andwishes to close it for storage, entry into a vehicle or building, or forany other reason, a user may collapse the umbrella 10 as seen in FIG. 3.Typically, to close the umbrella 10, a user may slide the carriage 40along the support shaft 30 in the direction away from the canopy 20.When the carriage 40 is moved vertically away from the canopy 20, thesupport braces 50, which are generally connected to both the canopy 20and to the carriage 40, slide vertically with the carriage causing thecanopy 20 to collapse and fold into partitions. To aid in the collapseof the canopy 20, the support braces 50 usually have one or more hinges52 that permit the braces to bend into two or more pieces, as best seenin FIG. 4. Optionally, the support shaft 30 is telescoping to furtherminimize the size of a closed collapsible umbrella 10. A typicalcollapsible umbrella 10 may also include a handle 60 for user ease inholding the umbrella during use.

As detailed above, a typical collapsible umbrella 10 can be veryconvenient for a user because of its ability to provide cover for a userduring inclement weather, while permitting a user to collapse theumbrella into a fraction of the size for storage. However, a drawback tothe collapsible umbrella 10 is that when a user utilizes the umbrellafor cover against rain, it is likely that the user will get wet whentrying to collapse the rain soaked umbrella canopy 20. The user islikely to get wet because the top surface 22 of the canopy can harbor asubstantial amount of water immediately after use, and the water isoften directed towards the user or other surroundings when the umbrella10 is closed. This occurs because the top surface 22 of the umbrella 10is exposed when the umbrella is either in the open or closed position.

The collapsible umbrella 110 of the present invention avoids the abovelisted deficiencies of the typical collapsible umbrella 10 anddramatically reduces the amount of water that a user may contact whenusing. In reference to FIGS. 5-6, a collapsible umbrella 110 accordingto a first example embodiment of the present invention is depicted,having a canopy 120, a central support shaft 130, a sliding carriage140, a plurality of support braces 150 (not shown), and a handle 160.The canopy can be described as including a top surface 122 and a bottomsurface 124. Uniquely, the collapsible umbrella 110 of the presentinvention permits a user to close the canopy 120 of the umbrella in theopposite direction from typical collapsible umbrellas 10, such that thecanopy is reversed upon closing, as best seen in FIG. 6. It can be seenthat while the top surface 122 of the canopy 120 is exposed to theelements when in use, the bottom surface 124 becomes the surface that isexposed to the user and surroundings when in the closed position.Because water that remains in connection with the canopy 120 after useby a user typically resides only on the top surface 122 of the canopy,the bottom surface 124 is generally dry. By enabling a user to close theumbrella 110 such that the bottom surface 124 is exposed, a user is thusable to interact with exposed areas of the umbrella without getting wet.Additionally, a user is able to better direct/shake the accumulatedwater from the top surface 122 of the canopy 120 by holding the umbrella110 upside down and permitting the water to drain away from the user.

In another example embodiment of the present invention, a user cancollapse the umbrella 110 into the handle 160 such that little or nopart of the canopy 120 is exposed when the umbrella is in the closedposition, as shown in FIG. 7. In alternate embodiments, the handle 160can include means for enclosing the canopy 120 within, such as withVelcro®, one or more zippers, a waterproof cover, etc.

In still another example embodiment of the present invention, theumbrella 110 can collapse into foldable sections to minimize the size ofthe umbrella when closed, as best seen in FIG. 8. In such an embodiment,the support braces 150 have multiple joints to permit two or more foldsin the canopy 120. Such an embodiment allows the umbrella 110 tocollapse into a more vertically compact position for storage or non-use.This embodiment will be described in greater detail below.

With reference now to FIG. 9, an example embodiment depicting acollapsible umbrella 110 is shown without a canopy 120 for clarity. Itcan be seen that the support braces 150 further comprise two sections: alower section 155, and an upper section 156 and are coupled to eachother through a hinge 152. The distal end of the lower section 155 isconnected to the central support shaft 130 with a cable, wire, or string170, which provides stability and support for the brace 150 and canopy120 when the umbrella 110 is in the open position. The base end of thelower section 155 is directly coupled to the sliding carriage 140. Theupper section 156 is connected to the sliding carriage 140 with a secondwire 172, which rotates the upper section of the support brace 150vertically when the umbrella 110 is being closed. The wire 172 ispreferably connected to the distal end of the upper section 156,although it is not necessary, and preferably connects to the carriage140 through the interior of the central support shaft 130 as seen inFIG. 9. In alternate embodiments, the wire 172 connects the uppersection 156 to the carriage 140 via the exterior of the support shaft130.

FIGS. 10-13 further depict an example embodiment of the presentinvention in operation. When a user wishes to close the umbrella 110,the user can slide the carriage 140 along the central support shaft 130towards the handle 160. In doing so, the carriage moves the lowersections 155 of the support braces 150 into a substantially verticalposition as seen in FIGS. 11-13. At the same time, as the slidingcarriage 140 is moved towards the handle 160, the wires 172 rotate theupper sections 156 of the braces 150 towards a vertical positionexposing the bottom side of the canopy 120. As the sliding carriage 140vertically traverses the central shaft 130 towards the handle 160, thecentral shaft can telescopically be compacted as best seen in FIG. 13.FIG. 6 depicts a similar embodiment shown with the canopy 120 included.

Another example embodiment of the present invention is seen in FIGS.14-16. Having many of the same features as the previous example umbrella110, this embodiment is different it that it has two or more hinges 152in the support braces 150, creating a lower section 155, an uppersection 156, and an intermediate section 157. Because of the multiplehinges, the braces 150 and the canopy 120 are collapsible into aplurality of sections, minimizing the vertical height of the collapsedumbrella 110 while still exposing the bottom side 124 of the canopy tothe user when the umbrella is closed. FIG. 8 depicts a similarembodiment shown with the canopy 120 included.

It should be noted that there are numerous additional mechanicalconfigurations that can be utilized to achieve a collapsible umbrellaaccording to the present invention and the present invention is notlimited to the configurations presented herein. For example, the distalends of the support arms can include magnetic tips to keep the supportarms together when umbrellas according to example embodiments of thepresent invention are in the collapsed position.

While the invention has been described with reference to preferred andexample embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the artthat a variety of modifications, additions and deletions are within thescope of the invention, as defined by the following claims.

1. A collapsible umbrella comprising a canopy having a top side and abottom side, wherein the umbrella is capable of being manipulatedbetween an open position and a closed position, wherein the top side ofthe canopy is substantially exposed when the umbrella is in the openposition, and wherein only the bottom side of the canopy issubstantially exposed when the umbrella is in the closed position.
 2. Acollapsible umbrella comprising: a canopy having a top side and a bottomside; a central support shaft; a plurality of support braces; and asliding carriage slidably coupled to the central support shaft; whereinthe support braces are coupled to the canopy and the sliding carriageand wherein user operation of the sliding carriage along the centralsupport shaft manipulates the umbrella between an open configuration anda closed configuration; wherein the top side of the canopy issubstantially exposed when the umbrella is in the open configuration andsubstantially covered when the umbrella is in the closed configuration;and wherein the bottom side of the canopy is substantially exposed whenthe umbrella is in the open configuration.